Greetings!
Welcome to the Academic Affairs newsletter. Browse updates and announcements, connect to tips and resources, and check out stories from around campus.
Message from EVC Simmons
Dear Colleagues,

It is such a delight to see so many of you -- and so many of our students -- back here in person on the campus. Watching our students find their way to the buildings created during our months away, enjoy the brand-new Target store, gather on Library Walk to learn about student organizations, or linger over meals on the terraces of the North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood shows our residential experience actively regenerating.

As we begin this Fall Quarter back on campus together, I want to thank you for your perseverance and collaboration as we are adapting to our new equilibrium and incorporating lessons learned from our time working remotely. In order to empower every Triton to succeed -- students, staff, and faculty -- we will need to work together coherently and collectively on the important issues that unite us all. I look forward to partnering with each of you in the months ahead.

For anyone involved in instruction: the Teaching + Learning Commons has pulled together materials on pandemic-resilient teaching in the classroom this fall. Additional resources to support your educational creativity are discussed below in the body of the newsletter.

And on the administrative side: As mentioned below, a Center for Operational Excellence is being launched by AVC for Resource Administration Marie Carter-Dubois to extend our tradition of continuous improvement into new realms. Please contact her office to learn more.

Let me close in gratitude. You are appreciated. Thank you for all that you do to make us the inclusive student-centered, research-focused, service-oriented UC San Diego we aspire to be.


Best regards,

Elizabeth H. Simmons
Donate to Afghan Scholars at Risk

The International Institute, the Human Rights and Migration Program, and the Afghan Students Association, in partnership with the Scholars at Risk Network, are collaborating to raise funds to help give refuge to an Afghan scholar. The hope is to raise $125,000 to sustain a scholar and their family for a year of postdoctoral fellowship work at the UC San Diego campus. For more information, or to make a donation, visit the UC San Diego CrowdSurf site for the fundraising effort.
Digital Resources for Instructors

Campus partners have collaborated to provide a video and digital resource guide for use by instructors returning to the in-person classroom this fall. All are encouraged to watch the "5 Things to Know..." short video, and download the Instructor Quick Resource Guide as you re-acclimate to in-person teaching at UC San Diego.
Relaunch of EdTech Website

Educational Technology Services (ETS) recently re-launched their EdTech website. Visit their updated site to discover more about faculty training and support for a suite of integrated instructional technology tools, including the campus learning management system, academic podcasting/lecture capture and creation of multimedia content for online, hybrid and flipped classes.
Training on How to Support Students in Distress

Case Management Services will be facilitating four upcoming trainings for “Creating a Culture of Care: Supporting Students in Distress” this quarter. This free and interactive training is designed to assist faculty and staff in recognizing and supporting students in distress. To complete the training, individuals only need to attend one of the scheduled dates. To register, search for “students in distress” on the UC Learning website.
Libraries Have Fully Reopened

For the first time since March 2020, UC San Diego students, faculty, staff and the general public may access in-person resources, services, spaces and collections without restrictions during open hours at both Geisel Library and the Biomedical Library Building. For more information, visit http://lib.ucsd.edu/fall21-reopening.
New Amphitheater Embodies Vision of Campus as an Arts Destination

In late July, Daniel and Phyllis Epstein gave a $10 million gift to UC San Diego in support of a new state-of-the-art amphitheater, signaling a major step in the university’s plan to become a top arts destination. In recognition of the gift, the 2,850-seat venue – slated to open in fall 2022 – will be named the Epstein Family Amphitheater. The amphitheater will create a welcoming entrance from the main campus trolley stop of the UC San Diego Blue Line. 

Plans are underway for inaugural programming designed to highlight performing arts that appeal to the wide-ranging and evolving interests of UC San Diego students, often at no cost. If an event cannot be offered to students for free, the campus is committed to ensuring that pricing remains accessible. Interested in participating in program development for our inaugural year, or learning more about future collaborations? Email VCSA@ucsd.edu.


Upcoming Return to Learn Town Halls
New Center for Operational Excellence

Associate Vice Chancellor Marie Carter-Dubois has created a Center for Operational Excellence (COE) that will operate out of the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and partner with Divisional Deans and Assistant Deans to remove barriers to their success. The center will be working with and capitalizing on the collaborative efforts of the Administrative Process Excellence (APEX) program at Jacobs School of Engineering, and other divisional best practices groups in the Division of Arts and Humanities and Division of Social Sciences. APEX has already partnered with the Division of Biological Sciences and the Division of Physical Sciences to provide more consistent support to staff, faculty and students.
Office Hours to Support Faculty and Researchers Using Oracle

In an effort to provide ongoing and dedicated support to the financial community, Business and Financial Services (BFS) Finance and Budget Support has launched the Faculty and Researcher Office Hour on Tuesdays from 1 to 2 p.m. This hour is dedicated to supporting faculty as they work within Oracle to view, interpret and understand their project financials. Co-hosted by Beverly Baker and Heather Sears, this is an opportunity to continue learning new reports, as well as ask any other questions on the new Oracle financial system. No registration is needed, just use the Office House Zoom link to join on Tuesdays!
CA Notify Aids in Contact Tracing Efforts

All personnel are urged to ensure that CA Notify is turned on or downloaded to their phones. The free service quickly notifies you if you were exposed to COVID-19. By downloading the app to your mobile device, you can continue protecting yourself and help stop the spread of infection.
Daily Monitoring Continues to Help Keep Campus Healthy

As part of the campus’ Return to Learn program strategies, daily monitoring of cases and exposures on campus continue. Rest assured that if the science dictates that cases on campus are increasing and the approach to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic must change procedures, action will be taken immediately.
ARAG Legal Insurance Plan

With Open Enrollment coming up later this fall, it’s a great time to explore and consider UC San Diego’s suite of benefits offerings. The employee-paid ARAG legal insurance plan assists in payment for routine and preventative legal services including simple wills and trusts, power of attorney, name changes and more. It also includes coverage up to $1 million for expenses associated with identity theft. Learn more about the ARAG legal insurance plan. If this plan is right for you, you can sign up during Open Enrollment, which will take place October 28 - November 19, 2021.
WEX/Discovery Benefits Email Notices to Employees

A number of UC employees received emails recently from WEX Health (the administrator for UC’s flexible spending account, COBRA and adoption assistance plans) about a change in information in their online WEX account. This change was made in error and is being corrected. Please note that the error is not the result of a security breach and UC employee data has not been compromised. Employees do not need to take any action regarding these email notices. The UC Office of the President has posted detailed information about this processing error on UCnet. Please do not submit tickets to either UC San Diego ServiceNow (SNOW) or via the UCPath Portal related to this issue. 
Rady School of Management Staff Scholarship Award Program

UC San Diego staff interested in pursuing an MBA or MS in Business Analytics (MSBA), and
who are admitted to the associated part-time Rady School of Management Flex MBA program, can apply for financial support through the staff scholarship program. This program is offered by the Rady School of Management to support the professional development of UCSD career staff. For more information about the program, please see this document.
Scholarship Available for HR Management Certificate Program

UC San Diego Extension is offering a scholarship aimed at supporting individuals who are at a career crossroads later in life and in need of financial assistance to retool their skills. The Vicki L. Krantz Memorial Human Resources Scholarship will cover the cost of UC San Diego Extension's Human Resource Management Certificate program tuition and books. The scholarship deadline is October 31. To apply for the scholarship please review the submission guidelines located online.
UCSD students, staff build filtration boxes to make...

Thinking outside the box, students took COVID safety into their own hands."It's a box fan, and then you make a cube out of these filters that you can buy at ...

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Wild at Art - Triton Magazine

When Chris Canole '69's interest in the environmental movement of the 1960s met the natural woods of early UC San Diego, the confluence led to his becoming a prominent figure in the earth art movement of the time.

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tritonmag.com
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